Guzman, who has escaped maximum security Mexican prisons on two occasions, was head of the largest and most powerful drug syndicate in Mexico, and stands accused of brutal murders and kidnappings.

el chapo extradition

Cervantes appeared after the apprehension of El Chapo's second-in-command, Damaso Lopez, in Mexico City on Tuesday (2 May). Lopez - also known as 'El Licenciado' (the graduate) - was paraded by armoured soldiers outside an upmarket apartment block where he lived.

In 2009, Forbes magazine included Guzman on its list of the world's richest people, estimating he had amassed $1bn. He was removed from the list in 2013 while he was on-the-run, as they could not estimate his worth.

Guzman is charged with a 17-count indictment which includes the forfeiture of the $14bn, a figure based on the cartel's estimated drug sales between 1989 and 2014.

On Friday (5 May), Guzman will appear in Brooklyn federal court to ask a judge to loosen the conditions of his solitary confinement, as he claims his treatment is more restrictive than any other US prisoner.